Lincoln Park Zoo History Museum

It's been about a month since I wrapped up my second project and first semester of grad school.

It was a challenging, yet extremely rewarding semester, and I cannot believe how far I've come and how much I've learned in 15 weeks!

The project for the second half of the semester was a commercial project. Our assignment: to turn what is now the Helen Brach Primate House into a history museum of the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago.

Some of the required elements included:
- Exhibits on the main level of the building
- A small restaurant to seat a minimum of 50 persons
- A museum gift shop
- Public restrooms (ADA accessible), an elevator, and 2 stairways to the second level
- Second level to house offices for the curator, curator's assistants, marketing manager, and a conference room
- The entire project is to be considered toward LEED rating and has to be sustainable
- The zoo is looking for a strong concept from the designer that will enable them to fundraise while it is designed

I've posted some of the more relevant slides from my presentation below, with explanations of my ideas and process:


-I began with a brief background of the Lincoln Park Zoo and the existing space of the Helen Brach Primate House

-Concept: I was inspired by this series of Endangered Species prints by Andy Warhol. The images are screen printed, then colored over by hand with pencils and paints.

It's said that Warhol did this as a metaphor for how man-made industrialism is killing off Earth's natural beauty.

I was also inspired in a reading we did on the Industrial Revolution, and how its effects have had (and still have) and extremely detrimental impact on the environment.

I wanted to incorporate both of these ideas in my design by promoting the positive effects of industrialization and how it's allowing us to explore technologies to create materials, products, and spaces that not only sustain but even give back to the environment.

-Inspiration: For my design, I was inspired by the curvilinear shapes and forms of Antoni Gaudi; the way the Louvre in Abu Dhabi by Jean Nouvel plays with light and shadows and its intricate cut-outs; color-blocking; and of course, the prints by Warhol.



Above: My plan for the main floor, including exhibits, a gift shop, a water feature, 2 sets of restrooms, and the restaurant and kitchen.



- Upon entering the museum, you would see the water feature apparently descending from the ceiling and into the long trough on the main floor. Over the top of the waterfall would be a sash of colorful flowers made from recycled water bottles, with recycled paper vines hanging down. Banners with laser-cut shapes of leaves would be hung sporadically along the ceiling, utilizing the natural light from the windows to cast interesting shadows throughout the space.


- The exhibit slide shows a sketch of the intricate "branch" pattern that would be cut into the curved walls of the exhibit. The interior walls of each of the 6 exhibits would be painted a different color, as showcased in the palette shown.


- The bottom 2 slides show an isometric view of the main floor, and my first attempt at rendering in 3D Studio Max. Neither images have nearly the amount of detail I would've liked, but given the time and current skill set I have to work with, I think it was a pretty good first pass :) This semester we will be exploring rendering programs more in-depth.



- This set of slides showcases my concept, plan, sketches, and materials ideas for the restaurant portion of the museum.

Since the restaurant is situated behind the waterfall feature of the main exhibition area, I chose the name "Abri," which is the proper term for the area of rock shelter in a cliff found behind a waterfall.

Abri will have a feature bar with the waterfall in the background, and will accommodate up to 105 persons.



- Lastly, the plan and materials palette for the administrative offices upstairs. This was our introduction to systems furniture. I went with Herman Miller furniture and a more subdued color palette for the offices.


To tie my design into my concept, I kept in mind sustainability as a priority throughout the design process.
Some of the space's sustainable features include:

• Exhibit feature wall: Elements made of recycled papers and water bottles from the zoo's own waste
  
• Exhibits: VOC-free, water-based paints; All materials produced in the Midwest; Eco-friendly epoxy floor "ecopoxy" or "aquapoxy"
• ABRI: Limestone wall covering from Illinois quarries
  
• Admin. Offices: Wallcovering Cradle-to-Cradle Silver Certified; Herman Miller "Resolve" system (workstations are 59% recyclable and contain 27% recycled materials; every part is easily disassembled for recycling; a low-emitting product)

It was very cool to transform a space that's in such a public place and that's visited by hundreds of thousands of people a year. It made me realize how much of an impact I can have on society through my designs, and definitely made me more open to the idea of commercial design.
But we'll see! Onto the next chapter...!